The Mavericks have proven all season that an up-tempo, fast-breaking, high-scoring game is both successful and entertaining.

So have the Sacramento Kings.

The battle between two of the league's most similar styles will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday when Sacramento hosts the Mavericks in Game 1 at Arco Arena.

The Mavericks learned their second-round opponent late Monday night when the Kings topped Utah, 91-86, to complete their 3-1 first-round series triumph. The Kings didn't exactly streak to the second round; they won three games against Utah by an average of 3.6 points.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, swept Minnesota 3-0, winning by an average of 10.7 points.

DALLAS - The boos have been replaced by thunderous cheers. But Mavericks coach Don Nelson always knew the time would come when fans would truly appreciate Steve Nash.

"He's got the mental and the physical package put together," Nelson said, in describing his mercurial point guard. "He's not real big, but he's a great athlete.

"When you think about the things he's able to do with his feet and his hands and how fast he is - and those are all athletic things - and then to be able to see the floor. He's just a solid player."

Early on in his Mavs career, fans weren't so sure what to make of Nash. Shortly after the 6-foot-3, 195-pounder signed a six-year, $36 million extension, his game suffered in part because he was playing with lingering injuries.

Mavs fans, who had seen management make numerous questionable personnel decisions for nearly a decade, booed Nash unmercifully. Nash viewed the boos as an opportunity to mature.

How confident were the Dallas Mavs that they would end their playoff series against the Timberwolves with a victory Sunday at Target Center?

Before the game, the Mavs, who had they lost would have had to play Game 4 today at Target Center, checked out of their Minneapolis hotel.

MINNEAPOLIS ? Flip Saunders knew the question was coming. And after his team's sixth consecutive first-round playoff dismissal Sunday, the Minnesota coach is getting tired of answering.

Q: "How long can you expect your fans to remain patient?"

A: "I can't answer that. I can't say we're not going to get better. What's the alternative? What do you want me to say?"

There wasn't much anybody in the Timberwolves' organization could say after the Mavericks completed the three-game sweep at Target Center. The Timberwolves' postseason balance sheet looks like this: six of one (appearances), half dozen of the other (first-round exits).

The key statistics from Game 3 were exactly what the Timberwolves feared most. With Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash combining for 94 of the Mavericks' 115 points, Minnesota found itself stuck between a rock and a hard place ... and another hard place.

The Wolves, in Nash's estimation, "were on the verge of blowing the roof off this place."

Instead they got broomed, giving Nelson ample opportunity to explain that his relationship with Najera isn't as loud as it looks.

"I love him more than anyone on the team," Nelson said.

Najera? The kid you yell at all the time?

"Do you really think so?" Nelson asked back, sounding disappointed that it looks that way to some outsiders. "He's my favorite child, so to speak, so maybe you're a little tougher on him.

"He makes errors that he shouldn't, but, again, he's young and he's just starting to play a lot. I'm just trying to make sure he understands the mistake he made. Because if he's making the errors, he's telling me I can't play him. And I want to play him."

MINNEAPOLIS ? When it wasn't Dirk Nowitzki, it was Michael Finley. When it wasn't Finley, it was Steve Nash. And when it wasn't Nash, it was even Eduardo Najera.

In the end, the Mavericks finished their series against Minnesota the way they began it, with their Big Three shouldering the load, with shots falling from too many angles from too many weapons, and with another victory, this time a 115-102 triumph.

Minnesota was simply outmanned, outgunned and outright swept.

The Mavericks' Game 3 scrapping past the Timberwolves on Sunday secured the franchise's first playoff series sweep. They advance to the second round for the second consecutive year, with a Game 1 reservation already set for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The opponent and place will be determined by the outcome of the Sacramento-Utah series, which the Kings lead 2-1.

MINNEAPOLIS - Just in case they had the wherewithal to put the Minnesota Timberwolves out of their misery, the Mavericks checked out of their Minneapolis hotel before Sunday's playoff game at the Target Center.

Consider it a wise decision.

With their Big Three stepping up big-time, the Mavericks flew home afterward with the precious item they came here for - a 115-102 victory and a 3-0 sweep of the Timberwolves in this best-of-five series. It was the first time the Mavericks have swept a playoff series and came at a time when this team can use some much-needed rest.

The Mavericks will next be in action at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in a best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series against the Sacramento-Utah survivor.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 of his 39 points before halftime and lent his hot hand to Michael Finley in the second half Sunday, helping the Mavericks hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves and finish a three-game sweep with a 115-102 victory.

Finley had 13 of his 30 points in the third quarter and Steve Nash had 25 points and 11 assists for Dallas, which shot 13-for-24 from 3-point range and advanced to the second round for the second consecutive year and will meet the winner of the Utah-Sacramento series.

"We're always confident down the stretch," Nash said. "We've got so many shooters, we're bound to make a couple."

Wolves coach Flip Saunders had to be physically restrained by a pair of his assistants when his argument with referee Bill Spooner in the second quarter erupted into a full-blown confrontation.

What began as a gripe about a foul call on Kevin Garnett got much worse after Spooner allegedly wisecracked about another ref's grudge with Saunders.

Late in the Wolves' 112-80 victory over Toronto on March 19, referee Greg Willard made a snide remark about Sam Mitchell's three-pointer in the final minute. Saunders basically told Willard to butt out and said: "I think referees are supposed to ref games. I didn't know they were suppposed to give opinions."

That set up Sunday's beef. "Since that time, I've had two referees that, when I asked them about something, said, 'I thought you didn't want referees to give opinions,' " Saunders said. "One was before with Steve Javie, the other was tonight with Spooner.

"I told them I thought that was total bull. First of all, my problem was not with them, it was with Greg Willard. To bring something like that up in the heat of the battle, I don't know what you're thinking. . . . They all talk."

Saunders nearly fell as he was getting pulled away from Spooner but wound up getting only one technical foul.

It happened so quickly, Wally Szczerbiak didn't think he was in trouble. As turns it, it might have the biggest play in the Wolves' 115-102 series-ending loss to Dallas on Sunday.

With the Wolves trailing 104-101, Szczerbiak broke out for a fast-break opportunity with Dallas guard Nick Van Exel the only defender standing in his path. Wolves forward Gary Trent trailed on the right side, but Szczerbiak said he didn't see nor hear him.

Szczerbiak lost control of the ball going up, and in a scramble, Dallas forward Eduardo Najera dived in, grabbed the ball and called a timeout.

Dallas coach Don Nelson called it the biggest play of the game because the Mavericks went ahead 106-101 on the ensuing possession on a Najera putback layup.

In hindsight, Szczerbiak said he wished he had known Trent was on the other side. But he still thought he made the right decision.

"I was just trying to attack the basket as much as possible," he said. "I figured with Nick back, as long as I could get to the point where I was going up for the shot, he wasn't going to be able to stop it or block it.